What the Future Holds
by Psychic Genius
Summary: After Robotnik is restored from the dead, the future Freedom Fighters return to the battlefield. But are they the heroes this time, or is there someone replacing them? If you read, please review! Chapter 3 is posted.
1. The Torture Game

-----Chapter One: The Torture Game-----

Author's Note: Hello! Psychic Genius here and this is my debut story for the Mobius: 25 Years Later series I'm making. There should be plenty of chapters after this one, if this series goes as planned. After you read this chapter, please respond! I would like to get your opinions on the story and any suggestions you may have. Keep in mind this is my first story, so no serious flaming! (No matter how bad it is!) Also, don't ask me to add any fic characters you have. Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: All Sonic the Hedgehog characters used in this story are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates, and Archie Comics or its affiliates except where noted, in which they were created and trademarked by me. Any attempt to steal ownership or make profit from this story will be considered a violation of copyright law.

* * *

It was twilight on Mobius. The sun had just set behind the forests of Knothole, and darkness was cast over Mobotropolis. Sally had just finished putting Sonia and Manik to bed, and was enjoying a relaxing night, one she hadn't had for a long time. She and Sonic had been busy all month, dealing with the thousands of problems that came up in the kingdom. She felt the space next to her in bed, but it was empty. She quickly sat up and scanned the room, and not seeing her husband anywhere, Sally got out of bed. She poked her head out the bedroom door and looked both ways down the hallway. As she climbed into bed, she slowly convinced herself that Sonic had gotten up to get a drink or something and returned to her sleep.

* * *

"Why am I here again?" Sonic asked the extremely ugly being that stood before him in an irritated tone. 

"To make your life miserable, why else?" Robotnik retorted.

"And how did you restore part of Robotropolis? I thought we got rid of you and this place years ago."

"It's astounding what evil geniuses like me can do, don't you agree?" Robotnik sneered at him and pressed a button on the control panel in front of him, and a robot walked out of the back door of his fortress. Sonic stared at it in amazement. The robot resembled him a great deal, so much that it was like looking in a mirror.

"Whatcha doin' with that?"

"Weren't you listening to what I just said about making your life miserable?" Robotnik grabbed the crown off Sonic's head and nonchalantly tossed it to the robot. The Metal Sonic exited the room and a large computer screen in the room turned on. Sonic struggled to escape from the metal bars pinning his arms to the wall, but it was no use. On the screen was the view from outside the Egg Fortress, through Metal's eyes. Mecha entered the castle and made sure Sally was asleep before climbing into bed next to her. Sally woke up minutes later and, realizing that Sonic was back, snuggled closer to him and fell asleep again.

* * *

Early the next morning, Sally turned to Metal, but he was facing the opposite direction, his back to her. _"He must have pushed me off him last night,"_ Sally thought to herself. Metal began to stir, and sat up in bed. 

"Are you all right, sweetie?"

"I'm fine," he said in a plain voice, identical to Sonic's. She didn't believe him, but she didn't say anything as he went downstairs.

"Morning Dad," Manik said cheerfully while Metal inhaled a cup of coffee.

"Where are you going?" Sonia asked as Metal took off out the door, concerning the children. "That's really strange. Dad always eats breakfast with us."

"Maybe he had something else to do."

Sally entered the kitchen, looking even more confused than the both of them. "Have either of you seen your father?" she queried. "He just left. He went through that door." Sonia pointed at the door that led to the garden.

"Did he say anything to you?" Sally asked them.

"Nope. He just ran off," Manik stated.

"Wonder what's wrong with him," Sally muttered as she ran through the garden looking for him. She found him lying underneath a willow tree, but chose not to wake him up since he was sleeping.

* * *

"You seriously think that that robot ignoring Sally will get to her?" Sonic scoffed as he watched Metal underneath the tree, sleeping soundly with a smirk on his face. 

"If you knew your wife, you would know that when stress is put upon her, she, dare I say, loses it. And if I'm correct, she has a meeting with the guardians of Angel Island later this week." Realization dawned on Sonic, and a look of terror appeared on his face.

"Taking advantage of her is playing mondo dirty!" he shouted at Robotnik. Robotnik let out a creul laugh and ordered some SWAT-bots into the room, and they knocked out Sonic with a laser gun.

* * *

Later that night, Sally stared out of her bedroom window, her eyes glued to the sky. The day had ended the same way as it did yesterday, except the night sky had looked ugly to her. She let out a sigh. If only things were as easy as they used to be. She was no longer at peace, because of the new problem that was arising. She silently returned to bed, deciding to test her husband. "What's the matter, Sonic? You barely said anything today." 

"I told you, I'm fine!" he snapped at her. This frustrated her further.

"You don't _sound_ fine," she said, angered. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence until dawn.

* * *

To Manik, it seemed as if the constant hostility between his parents would never cease. If it didn't it would not only cause trouble for his family, but also for the kingdom. It was worsening with each coming day, and both he and his sister were afraid to know the outcome. _If only I could do something to stop them,_ he thought. _Then I would be the hero for once, instead of Sonia. _She had always seemed to receive the extra attention. She was the one ascending the throne. Everyone had imperfections, but she evaded them. It was like she was the perfect child that all parents strived for, and he...wasn't. His mother had been like that too, but at the moment, even the Queen of Mobius had imperfections, like not getting along with the King. But despite his jealousy, Manik knew the situation was desperate enough for him to ask Sonia for help.

* * *

It was 11:00, one day before the meeting. Sally woke up in a bad mood. The fight from the night before, which was the worst one so far, still plagued her mind, and she was mad at herself for sleeping in. She quickly got changed and ate breakfast. Immediatley afterward, she looked around the castle for Sonic. He had developed a habit of disappearing lately, usually when she needed him for something, and she had to talk to him about the meeting tomorrow. About a half an ohur later. she gave up and decided to ask Manik. She found him playing one of his virtual reality games in his room. He took off the virtual glasses and asked, "You're looking for Dad, right?" She nodded her head. It had almost become a daily activity for Sally to be searching for Sonic in the morning. "I think he's taking a few laps around town," he said. 

"I'm worried about him," Sally said, arms crossed.

"What? That's nothing unusual."

"But he always tells me before he takes off like that."

"Yeah. Normally he asks if I wanna come along…," Manik drifted off.

* * *

A few hours later, in Robotropolis, Sonic had recovered from his knock out, and was watching what was going on in silence. He was still forced against the wall, and was ignoring Robotnik's taunts. He had long since given up on escaping, seeing thta it was impossible wihtout outside help. He was really starting to get sick of being there, and looked it as well. He had not eaten properly in almost a week, and his eyes were rimmed with circles from exhaustion. He saw Metal return to the castle after his laps, and watched Sally approach him. 

"Why didn't you tell me where you were going?" she asked, rage in her voice.

"Didn't think I needed to," he replied nonchalantly and walked away, satisfied with himself. Sally soon caught up to him.

"You're not telling me something," she said.

"I don't understand why you keep bugging me! I haven't changed at all, and nothing's wrong!" he yelled at her. That attracted Sonia's attention. She tried to see what was going on, but the view from her window was too far away. She ran downstairs, hid behind a bush, and continued watching.

"Look at you! You have changed." Sally's voice was beginning to break.

"How!"

"You never talk to me anymore; you haven't paid any attention to our kids!"

"Finally, someone realizes that other than me," Sonia thought to herself.

"I--I'm not even s-sure if you love me anymore…," Sally stammered, her eyes filled with tears.

* * *

Back in the ruins of Robotropolis, Robotnik entered the room, and watched what was going on with delight. Sonic had seen the whole thing, and, like Sally, was attempting to hold back tears. To him, it was like watching a bad horror movie. 

"Leave," Sally muttered.

"What?" Metal replied, rather confused.

"Sally, don't do it," Sonic muttered under his breath, very trance-like.

"YOU HEARD ME! LEAVE! GO! And… take this with you!" She pulled her wedding ring off, shoved it into his hand, and ran away crying.

"No…" Sonic mumbled. He had done it. Robotnik had succeeded in ruining his relationship with Sally. But Sonic was not one to sit around and mope, or to give up, for that matter. Some action had to be taken. He saw the shape of a power ring in Robotnik's coat pocket, and thought of a plan to escape. It was very strange for Robotnik to be carrying a power ring around, almost too convenient. But he had to seize this opportunity. "So…now that you ruined my life, what next? You gonna let me out of here?" Figuring that it was too hard to hurl insults at Sonic from a distance, he walked towards him. "Perfect," Sonic thought. Before Robotnik could say anything, Sonic tripped him, and the power ring flew out of his pocket, right towards Sonic. He got it around his leg and flung it up to his hand. In less than a second, he had broken free from the bars, and was heading for home. "Gotta juice 'Butt-nik!"

* * *

"No!" Sonia shouted to herself and began sobbing into her pillow. She had seen the whole thing, and had run from the bush she was hiding behind back to her room. Since Manik's room was next to Sonia's, he heard her crying and crossed into her room. 

"What's wrong?" he asked her, standing in the doorway. He was worried about her, because it took a lot to make his sister cry. And although it was odd for him to be within even five feet of his sister, he knew this had to be important.

"Mom and Dad, that's what." She looked up, not even caring that her brother was in her room. "Didn't you hear them?" she asked.

"No."

"Th--They got in a fight. A big one. I'm not even sure if we'll ever see Dad again." Manik's eyes widened and he sat next to her.

"What? N--No more Dad?" Sonia solemnly nodded her head. Tears welled up in Manik's eyes, but he wiped them away. "Well, we should do something about it. We can't just let this happen."

"You're right. W--We should. I'll talk to Mom, and you see if you can find Dad." Sonia immediately knew where her mother was. She ran into her parents' bedroom, and opened the closet doors. In the back of the closet was another door, the one that led to Sally's secret place; her balcony. Sonia found her mother facing the Great Forest, her eyes puffy and her face drenched.

Sally had been thinking of old times, when she was a Freedom Fighter in Knothole trying to overthrow Robotnik. And although she and her friends were in the midst of a war, the times she spent there were the happiest times of her life. Then she thought of more recent times, in which she and Sonic had overthrown Robotnik, despite the rumors that he still existed somewhere in the depths of the former Robotropolis. But no matter how hard she tried to keep her mind off what had just happened, it always returned to that subject. Why hadn't he been the least bit upset when she said that to him? How come he just left without arguing back?

"Mom?" Sonia said in a concerned voice, interrupting the questions playing back in her head. Hearing her daughter, she began to wipe her eyes and tried to act happier.

"Sonia!" She turned around to see a rather sad Sonia. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I heard the whole thing," Sonia looked away from her mother.

"Oh. Y-You did?"

"Yeah. And I'm sure Dad didn't mean anything he said to you." Sonia started to cry, but continued on. "You didn't mean anything you said to him, right?" Sally placed a comforting arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Well I'm incredibly sorry you had to hear that. No, I didn't. But he did mean every word he said, I'm sure of that. I guess your father and I were never meant to be."

Sonia broke free of her mother's grip, astonished. "Mom! You know that's not true. I've heard stories from Tails and Bunnie. They said you've been with Dad for the last 25 years! That's more than half of your life! You can't say that you weren't meant to be." Sally said nothing to this, and Sonia left in silence.

Something seemed suspicious. _"Sonia _is_ right. Sonic would never act this way, no matter how mad he was at me. And he and I _have_ been together for a long time…,"_ Sally thought. The thought of that caused her mind to drift off to a time long ago, when she was even younger than her daughter. It had been her best friend Bunnie's first raid to Robotropolis, and if she remembered correctly, she had done remarkably. The Freedom Fighters, at the time, were trying to find the blueprint for the Roboticizer, so Sonic's Uncle Chuck could use it to create a De-Roboticizer for all of the Mobians Robotnik had roboticized, including himself. Sonic, Sally, Antoine, and Bunnie had set out to Robotropolis to retrieve the information, while Tails had stayed in Knothole with Rotor to monitor the mission, mostly because Sally still considered him too young to go on raids.

_"So what's the plan again, Sal?" Sonic asked, munching on a chili dog he had brought in his backpack._

_Sally sighed. "Do I really have to explain this again, Sonic? _

_Sonic finished the chili dog and thought for a moment. "Well, yeah."_

_"Maybe if you were listening to the briefing before we got here, you would know what to do!"_

_"Make you should make thme more interesting!"_

_Bunnie stepped between them. "Would ya'll just stop your bickerin'? Me n' you are holdin' off the SWAT-bots, Sally-girl's gettin' the blueprint, and Sugarfox here's keepin' watch. That clear things up?" _

_"Thanks for that, Bunnie. I don't think I had the patience to explain that again." Sally said, glaring at Sonic. "Alright, I'm going. Remember Sonic, the mission is to hold the SWAT-bots off, not to sabotage the whole place. And be careful, Bunnie. This is your first mission, after all."_

_As soon as Sally had entered the building, a siren went off. "INTRUDER ALERT!" sounded over the intercom and SWAT-bots came from all directions. She hid in a small pile of rubble as they passed by, and soon heard them say, "PRIORITY ONE, HEDGEHOG ALERT," in their monotone voice and saw as she came out of her hiding spot that they were instantly destroyed. Sonic stood off to the side, admiring his work and brushing imaginary dust off his hands. She rolled her eyes and continued along a long corridor while Nicole pointed out directions. Eventually she had reached the heart of the building, which was a room containing a computer for Robotnik's stored files. She found the blueprint in a matter of seconds._

_"Nicole, download file RoboticizationBlueprint1," Sally said, hooking her up to the computer's main frame._

_"Downloading file, Sally," Nicole responded. "Process complete." Sally unhooked Nicole, and pressed a few buttons on her. _

_"Mission accomplished everyone. I'm heading back now."_

_Back outside the building, Sonic and Bunnie were finishing off some SWAT-bots when they received Sally's message on their communicators._

_"Way past, Sal. Everything's great here." Sonic replied. Sonic saw out of the corner of his eye that some SWAT-bots were walking in the direction of where Sally was. He quickly pulled out his communicator again. _

_"Heads up Sal! Some SWAT-butts are headin' your way!" When he didn't get a reply, he began to worry._

_"Sal, are you there?"_

_Still no answer. _

_"Sugarhog, what's goin'--" Sonic had taken off before Bunnie could finish. _

_Sally looked up and saw that there were at least five SWAT-bots surrounding her. She tried to kick one of them in its stomach, but another one caught her leg in midair and bent in against the direction it went in, releasing an agonizing crack. Sally screamed in pain and fell to the ground, unconscious. The first SWAT-bot picked her up from her arm and dragged her away._

_She awoke to find a large, ugly face staring at her, malicious red eyes glinting in the light. Her leg still throbbed in pain, and this was the last person she wanted to see now. She sat up and looked around. She appeared to be sitting on some sort of examination table in a room with a machine making a whirring sound. "Warm-up complete," the machine said, and the whirring sound stopped._

_"Are you wondering why you're here, Princess? Or what that machine does, perhaps? I feel there's no need to explain either, for you will soon be part of my robot army." Sally glared at Robotnik. "But I will give you one last chance. If you tell me the location of Knothole and where that idiotic hedgehog is, I will allow you to live."_

_"I'm right here!" Sonic called from a nearby doorway, tapping his foot impatiently. _

_"Aah! Get that hedgehog!" he yelled to the SWAT-bots. Sonic ran to where Sally was, carefully picking her up, and then continued running. They were quickly outside again and didn't even notice Antoine and Bunnie as they passed them._

_"Sonic, wat eez going on?" Antoine asked, but he soon got his answer. The SWAT-bots came running out after them._

_"Ah think that's our cue, Antoine," Bunnie called to him. The group of bots was quickly reduced to scraps of metal._

_

* * *

"What happened to her, Rotor?" Sonic asked back at the Infirmary._

_"Her leg was forced against the way it bends, so some damage was done to it. It's broken, but it should be okay in about a month," the walrus responded, leaning over Sally's medical chart. "Oh, and another thing. The file wasn't downloaded correctly. There must have been some sort of protection on it." _

_Sally began to stir in the bed located in the corner of the room. "Good, you're awake! I'll get you some water if you like."_

_"Thanks, Rotor, That'd be great." Sally said weakly from the corner. Rotor walked out of the room, stifling a laugh as he realized he had unintentionally given Sonic and Sally some "alone time."_

_"Hey Rote, something funny over there?" Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"No, nothing," he said before quickly shutting the door. They both stared at the door for a few seconds, confused, before they snapped out of it._

_"You okay Sal?" Sonic asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. _

_"I think so," Sally replied, lying down in bed. "But that doesn't even matter. I failed the mission!" _

_"Rote says that Robotnik put an invisible guard on the file so that it couldn't be copied."_

_"But I should have known better!" she said, shaking her head._

_"Don't beat yourself up, Sal. No one could have seen that coming," Sonic said, putting an arm around her. There was a short moment of silence before Sally spoke._

_"Thanks Sonic."_

_"For what?"_

_"For saving me today. I would have been way worse than this if you didn't." She sat up, kissed Sonic on his cheek, and hugged him. He smiled a smile she had never seen before, and hugged her back._

_"No problemo, Sal."_

* * *

Manik had been pursuing the mission his sister gave him for hours, but his father was nowhere to be found. He could be anywhere; it could be days before Manik found him, even with his inherited speed. He had checked every place he could think of, and was about to give up and go home, when he saw a blue streak run past him. "Dad!" He yelled to Sonic. (Yes. The real Sonic.) Sonic turned around, and started laughing as a result of being bulldozed by his son. "I thought I'd never see you again," Manik said as they both calmed down a bit. 

"Same here," Sonic replied, getting up and rubbing his back.

"How come you said all that horrible stuff to Mom?" he asked, serious as dead.

"You thought that was me? Naw. That was some bot Butt-nik sent out to ruin my life. I thought you would figure it out when he didn't ask you to come running with him."

"But then, where were you?"

"Some old ruins in Robotropolis, where else? Now if you excuse me, I have some matters with your mother to deal with," he said in an "official" tone. And with that, he was off.

-----Manik returned home and explained the situation to Sonia. Her sad expression instantly changed when she heard the story.

"Where'd he go?" she asked him.

"I think he's gonna work this whole thing out. C'mon, we should get a piece of the action."

"Manik! Don't be so rude! We've already interfered enough. We'll find out what happens later anyway."

"Fine. I'm still watching from my window. Are you sure you don't wanna join me? I've got the perfect view," he asked in a sing-song voice.

"Like I would ever set foot in your room, if you can even call it that," Sonia retorted, and then gave her little brother a look implying to get out of her room. Manik held his hands in front of himself in defense, and returned to his room.

-----Later that evening. Sally had stopped crying but was still on her balcony. Sonic first greeted Sonia, who was thrilled to see her father again, then went to Sally's balcony. Manik had a perfect view of everything from his window, just as he predicted. Sonia couldn't wait any longer to find out what would happen. In fact, there had been some times when her mother said her impatient behavior was worse than her father's. Like Manik, she also had a great view from her window. Sally heard Sonic coming, but did not turn around.

"Sal?" Sonic gently touched her shoulder. Sally continued to ignore him.

"Sal, that wasn't me you were talking to for the last few days. It was a robot identical to me." She turned around and crossed her arms, but didn't say anything. "I know what you're thinking. That I'm making this whole thing up, and that I'll just keep ignoring you if you forgive me," Sonic sighed.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" she asked quietly. He took her hands in his.

"You know I would never say anything like that to you; you know I love you, Sal. And I asked you to marry me all those years back in Knothole to prove it. I don't care how much you wanted me to leave, I'm staying here no matter what. You're a part of me Sal, I can't just leave you behind, " Sonic said and kissed her.

"It is you…," she whispered, putting her arms around him. Sonic did the same, his eyes watering. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything I said, and I should have never--" He put his hand over her mouth.

"S'Okay. Forget about it." She hugged him and tears streamed down her cheeks. Both Manik and Sonia smiled from their windows. "So now that you believe me, I have something to ask you," Sonic said with a grin on his face, wiping away her tears as well as his own.

"What?" Sally asked, giggling at the face he was making. Sonic got on one knee in front of her, and pulled her wedding ring out of a box.

"Will you marry me? Again?" A slight smile appeared on Sonic's face. He put the wedding ring on her left ring finger. Sally was overcome with joy, but by the silly look on her face Sonic could tell that she knew it was a joke.

"Of course I will!" Sally exclaimed, still giggling. They shared another kiss. "But, how did you get the ring? I gave it to the other you."

"I saw him on the way back here, and I made him an offer he couldn't refuse: give up the ring, and the crown, or start a holy war. It looked like he had had enough, so he handed them over. But I think that's as smart as he's gonna get." Sonic said, still smiling.

Sally glanced at Sonia's and Manik's windows. "Looks like we have an audience. You know they set this whole thing up." Sally said, and Manik and Sonia disappeared from the windows.

"We'll...have to thank them someday."

"You ready for the meeting tomorrow? And what's so important about it anyway?" she asked him.

"Don't know. Knuckles never explains any of the details. Heck, even at the meeting, he doesn't explain any of the details."

"Yeah. We're probably going to an emergency meeting to help Knuckles decide what to make for dinner." Sally joked. Just the thought of Knuckles cooking sent Sonic into a fit of laughter, and he and Sally returned to their bedroom to pack for the trip.


	2. The Emerald's Fate

-----Chapter Two: The Emerald's Fate-----

Author's Note: Hello again, ppl! I hope everyone liked the last story I posted. Sorry for the delay, (I was spellchecking and adding little paragraphs) and if there was any confusion regarding Robotnik. I'm aware that there are two different Robotniks in the comic (one more commonly known as Eggman.) And even though in present day, Eggman is the one ruling Robotropolis and whatnot, the one mentioned in this story is Robotnik Prime, not Eggman. Most of your questions about how he is still alive should be answered in this chapter.

Another problem I'm concerned with is the Brotherhood of Guardians mentioned in this chapter. I have limited knowledge of them and their associations with Knuckles and Sonic, so please forgive any errors you may find with them.

One last thing. For those who haven't taken note already, this story is based more on the comics than the TV show. Some things do differ though, such as Locke being alive. Well, that's all for now. See ya!

Disclaimer: All Sonic the Hedgehog characters used in this story are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates, and Archie Comics or its affiliates except where noted, in which they were created and trademarked by me. Any attempt to steal ownership or make profit from this story will be considered a violation of copyright law. So there!

* * *

Sonia screamed as she turned around and saw that he was still chasing her. She had been running away from him for the past ten minutes, and he had been hot on her heels. She was so close to her base, to a brake from all that running. But she panted and continued on, searching the bushes and trees as she did so. Finally she saw it, cleverly hidden amongst the leaves of a large tree. 

She turned around again and saw that there was now some distance between her and the fox that had been chasing her. She tried to keep out of sight as she crept toward the unguarded tree. _"Almost got it,"_ she thought to herself as she strained her arm trying to reach it. She could swear her fingertips had touched it when…

"Gotcha!" Sonia leapt back in surprise as Manik jumped out of a nearby bush. She attempted to flee to her base, but he and the fox had her cornered.

"Ha! We win!" Manik tagged her and high-fived the gray fox behind her.

"Oh, come on, Sonia! We were counting on you!" Lara-Su called from the opposing team's jail.

"Well what did you expect? I was the last one on our team!" Sonia called back as she walked over to her team.

"No excuses. Our team won fair and square!" exclaimed another member of Manik's team.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the meeting hall, six adults sat around a long rectangular table, each with their head in their hands. Some of them appeared annoyed, while others simply listened to what was happening outside. Sonic could hear two distinct voices that he recognized all too well, and neither seemed happy. He glanced at Sally and noticed that she recognized them too. Knuckles, being one of the annoyed ones, was the first to speak. 

"How are we supposed to concentrate on the task at hand with all of these distractions!" Knuckles demanded, pounded his fist on the table.

"Well, it's your fault, Sonic. You're the one who suggested they play capture the flag in the first place," Queen Sally said, glowering at Sonic.

"I didn't suggest it! I was just remembering how we used to play capture the flag in Knothole on the way here, and they must've gotten the idea from that!" King Sonic said, defending himself. "Besides, can you think of anything better for them to do?"

Before Sally could respond, Julie-Su began to laugh. "What?" they ordered.

"I think you two are even worse than them," Locke, Knuckle's father, said, pointing outside and also beginning to laugh.

"Well I'm happy everyone thinks this is so funny, but this is a very important matter!" Knuckles snarled. The room instantly fell silent. "Now I suggest you do something to control your children, Your Highness," he said, looking at Sally.

Sally hastily stood up and walked toward the door, embarrassed at herself and her children. As she entered the courtyard, she noticed that the argument was not only between Manik and Sonia, but among the crowd of teenagers involved in the game. It seemed as if Manik and Sonia had found every teenager on Angel Island and asked them to participate in the game.

"Sonia! Manik! What's going on?" Sally yelled over the arguments of the crowd, hands on her hips. The arguing stopped like someone had flipped a switch off. Sonia and Manik turned to face their mother. Both of their faces went pale white, and they backed up a few steps.

"Oh, h-hi Mom. W-we didn't interrupt the meeting, d-did we?" Manik stuttered, scared for his life.

"Actually you didn't. Thanks to you two, the meeting hasn't even started yet," Sally stated, sending them a glare. "I suggest you find something else to do, before Knuckles loses it."

She turned on her heel and walked away while the others watched in awe. "I thought we were really gonna get it," Manik murmured, his eyes wide with shock.

"So did everyone else here," Lara-Su said in reply.

"So what are we supposed to do now? The meeting's gonna last a few more hours," asked a female squirrel. Others mumbled in agreement.

"Yeah, we're going home. My parents are inviting people over, and they made us promise to help clean up," the gray fox from before said as he motioned toward his siblings. The crowd started to disperse as the others explained the reasons for their departures and soon Lara-Su, Sonia, and Manik were left standing in the backyard alone.

"You know, I think half of those excuses were fake," Manik declared.

"You think?" Lara-Su said sarcastically as they walked toward the house. "Like anyone has to pack so they can visit their uncle in the circus."

"Well, anything's better than staying here and listening to a bunch of adults talking about…uhh...nothing important, I'm sure," Manik confirmed.

"_I'm_ not so sure about that. If it's so important that Mom had to come out here and tell us to keep it down, then it has to be something big," Sonia reasoned.

"So you're saying we should eavesdrop?" Manik asked excitedly.

"Nothing new for you, I'm sure. The sooner we find out, the better. Besides, what else are we supposed to do?" Lara-Su said as they reached the house. They quietly snuck in, crouching down behind a sofa in the neighboring room. They could clearly hear the adults speaking.

"So Knux, are you saying that you're finally telling us what's so important about this meeting?" Sonic asked in false shock.

"Well, if there weren't any interruptions, I would have finished by now," Knuckles said through gritted teeth.

"The reason we called this meeting is because of Ivo Robotnik. I'm sure you two already know of his return, considering your latest encounter with his "Metal" bot," Sabre, another guardian, explained, gesturing towards Sally and Sonic, "But we are here to discuss not only his return, but also what we are going to do to stop him from terrorizing Mobius once more."

Lara-Su looked at Sonia and Manik in surprise. "Your parents fought Robotnik again?" She whispered.

"Not exactly. It's a pretty long story," Manik whispered back.

"Just how did he come back anyway?" Sally questioned.

"It happened about two weeks ago," Knuckles started. "I was guarding the Master Emerald, as well as the Chaos Emeralds. But it was late at night, and I had been on duty all day, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to take a nap. When I woke up, I saw this short, bald overlander with a long nose dragging Robotnik towards me.

"Snively," Sonic growled. "Can't believe he's still around."

Knuckles ignored him and continued on. "I tried to say something, but he shot me with a stun ray before I could finish. Then he started chanting something that I couldn't understand, and Robotnik was surrounded by white light. Next thing I knew, Robotnik and that overlander got into a hovercraft and took off."

"Something seems off here," Sally interrupted. "Why would Snively want his uncle alive again? Wasn't _he _the one who killed him?"

"We know little of the history or desires of Snively. Your guess is as good as ours," Locke confessed.

"We held a small meeting the next day after the stun ray wore off," Julie-Su continued. "Locke and Sabre said they recognized what the overlander had said once Knuckles repeated it for us."

"He was using The Spell of Life," Locke explained. "It can only be used once every fifty years. It uses the all of the Chaos Emerald's power, as well as the Master Emerald's power, to permanently bring someone back to life."

"SAY WHAT? PERMANENTLY!" Sonic and Sally exclaimed. "It'll be the coup all over again," Sally said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "All of our hard work, restoring Mobotropolis, rescuing the Robians and de-roboticizing them; it'll all be in vain!" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around Sonic's neck and putting her head onto Sonic's shoulder for support. All he could do was put his arms around her. He knew exactly how she felt, and so did everyone else there. All of the Guardians silently lowered their heads in silence, except for Locke, who spoke.

"But like Sabre said earlier, we are gathered here to discuss means of defeating him once more."

"Well, do any of you have any ideas?" Sonic asked as Sally collected herself and wiped her eyes.

"We had come up with one plan before you arrived," Julie-Su said. "Sabre said that we may be able to reverse the effect of the emerald's spell. The rebirth of a creature through the emeralds can take place anywhere within the fiftieth year, and being that the year isn't over yet, we could change the effects of the spell."

"As in?" Sally queried.

"As in take the power from Robotnik and return it to the emeralds," Julie-Su answered.

"Then why's everyone here worrying?" Sonic asked.

"Because there is one problem with that theory," Sabre responded. "There would be no way no get Robotnik to Angel Island to start the process." A long silence followed this statement.

Finally Sally spoke. "What if the Chaos Emeralds are far enough away from each other and the Master Emerald that their powers weaken?"

Knuckles shook his head. "The Chaos Emeralds are more of a minor power source in this case. Most of the life that Robotnik has came from the Master Emerald, and there's no way we can move that." More silence followed that.

"Hey, I have an idea! Since none of us can think of anything that'll work, how about you guys hold a 'reunion' at your place?" Julie-Su asked, motioning to Sonic and Sally.

"What kind of reunion?" Sonic asked, puzzled.

"A Freedom Fighter reunion! They're sure to come up with something! And maybe they can help us fight Robotnik too!"

Sonia looked at Manik, her face completely ecstatic. "What's up with you?" asked a confused Manik.

Sonia noticed Manik's expression and something clicked in her mind. "Oh, I forgot, you never met them before…"Sonia drifted off.

"Met who?"

"We'll explain later," Lara-Su whispered, her attention focused on the adult's conversation.

"I'm not so sure they'll be willing to come," Sally said across gravely. "We've been out of contact with them for quite some time now."

The excited expression on Sonia's face instantly vanished. "Guess I forgot about that too…"

"I don't know about that, Sal. If we mention Robotnik, they'll be willing to come," Sonic reasoned.

"I hope you're right," Sally said, still unconvinced.

"Course I'm right! The Freedom Fighters never turn down a chance to beat up old 'Butt-nik," Sonic said, his voice full of bravado.

The smile returned to Sonia's face. "Count on Dad to change Mom's mind about everything," she thought.

"Well then it's settled. Get your group back together, and come back here later on to fill us in," Knuckles said.

"Wait, I have a better idea. Why don't you, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su come back with us so you know what's going on?" Sally requested.

"Sounds good to me," Julie-Su said.

"Yes!" Manik yelled, punching the air with his fist. He immediately covered his mouth as Sonia and Lara-Su took off outside, knowing their eavesdropping was no longer secret. Manik rushed after them without further delay.

"Guess they got bored," Sonic shrugged.

"Well, we best be on our way," Knuckles said. "See ya Dad. Grandfather," He said, nodding to each of them.

"Good luck," Locke replied as they watched them go.

"We'll keep in touch," Sabre added.

* * *

Aboard the personal royal plane, Manik desperately tried to get a straight answer out of the girls, but they were seemingly toying with his patience. "For the hundredth time, who haven't I seen before?" he asked Sonia and Lara-Su, tapping his foot impatiently. 

"Don't you like surprises?" Sonia asked, stifling her laughter. It was pure entertainment for her and Lara-Su to see Manik being tortured, his desperation growing by the minute.

Manik thought for a second. "Umm, no. Not really."

Sonia and Lara-Su decided to give up on the stalling, seeing that Manik had a strange look in his eyes that reminded her of the eyes of a serial killer.

"Fine, we give," Lara-Su sighed. "Your sister was excited because it's been twelve years since we saw the Freedom Fighters and their families, and we finally get to see them again."

"Families? You mean they have kids? Who are they? How old are they?" Manik asked eagerly.

"We were getting there. Tails and Lena-"

"Who's Lena? Don't remember her in any of the stories Mom or Dad told me," Manik questioned confusedly.

"Tails married her after the Freedom Fighters overthrew Robotnik, so she's probably not in any of the stories Mom or Dad told you," Sonia answered. "Anyway, Tails and Lena have a son named Miles. He should be around 16 now-"

"So they are our age?"

"Well, _our_ age, not yours."

"And Bunnie and Antoine had twins named Bridget and Jacques, who are the same age as Sonia," Lara-Su said, making a cute face at Sonia when she said 'Jacques' and 'same age as Sonia'. Sonia turned a bright red, but Manik didn't seem to notice.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but I think Mom and Dad sorta just…drifted apart from them," Sonia said, trying to move the subject along. "We saw them fewer and fewer times, until we stopped seeing them altogether."

"How old was I when we last saw them?" Manik queried.

"Uh, I think you were still inside Mom, so they probably remember me mentioning that I was getting a baby brother," Sonia inferred.

"Alright, cool. Does anyone wanna play cards?" Manik requested, holding up the deck. "We still got a few hours till we're home."

"Sure, why not?" Lara-Su said. They tried their best to form a triangle

"Sonia, why was your brother excited when he found out I was coming?" Lara-Su whispered when Manik was dealing the cards.

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" she whispered back.

While they were playing cards in the back of the plane, the adults were exchanging words in the front.

"It's getting late. I'm think I'm gonna try to get some sleep," Julie-Su yawned.

"Sounds good to me. I'm exhausted," Knuckles also yawned. They leaned back against their seats and instantly fell asleep.

"Guess they weren't kidding," Sonic said to no one in particular, because Sally was staring out the window. Sonic had noticed her change in demeanor and was worried. "Sal, what's wrong? You haven't said a word since we left Angel Island," he asked, put his arm around her shoulders.

"I just hope it works," she said, keeping her arms crossed but no longer looking out the window. "I mean, what if they blame it on us for being out of contact for so long? What if they treat us like complete strangers when we see them? What if they don't come and Robotnik-"

Sonic put his finger over her mouth, his face lined with worry. "Sal, I haven't seen you like this since Robotnik was in power. Stop worrying! You know the Freedom Fighters don't play the blame game. And they'll never treat us like strangers, no matter how long it's been since we last saw them. And Robotnik's never taking over again; don't even think like that!"

She was silent after he had said that. Everything he said had been true, and she was now more confident. It was amazing how he could instantly make her feel better. She had always deemed it to be one of his "gifts." Sally wordlessly put her head on his shoulder as he placed his arms around her. As soon as they had done that, they had fallen asleep as fast as Knuckles and Julie-Su had.


	3. Reunion

-----Chapter Three: Reunion-----

Author's Note: Tsk, tsk, I'm getting into a bad habit here with this delaying stuff. Glad I got that last story over with. I've wanted to do this story (as well as the one following this) so badly! In this chapter, I'm introducing some of my own characters. (Lena Prower, Miles Prower, Jacques D'Coolette, and Bridget D'Coolette) If you need any descriptions, I'll put them in a revised copy of the story. Wow, short author's note this time. (Hears cheering in the distance) Hey! Alright, that's all for now. Toodles!

Disclaimer: All Sonic the Hedgehog characters used in this story are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates, and Archie Comics or its affiliates except where noted, in which they were created and trademarked by me. Any attempt to steal ownership or make profit from this story will be considered a violation of copyright law.

* * *

"Wish us luck," Queen Sally said to those gathered in the room. 

"Good luck Mom," Sonia said.

"Good luck Dad," Manik stated.

"Aww c'mon, Sal, we don't need luck! When we last saw everyone, we all promised that we'd keep our communicators on at all times, just in case something happened, so don't fret!" King Sonic said confidently, pulling Sally closer to him.

"If you say so...," she muttered hesitantly. Sally and Sonic had been seated on the sofa, Knuckles to Sonic's right; Julie-Su to Sally's left. Sonia, Lara-Su and Manik were assembled behind the sofa, watching over their parents' shoulders. "Okay, I'll call Bunnie and Antoine, you call Rotor, and then-"

"Wait," Sonic interrupted. "We haven't seen them in such a long time; they probably want to hear from both of us."

"Point taken. Nicole, establish link that has been requested."

* * *

Bunnie and Antoine, to no one's surprise, became inseperable after Patch, who had impersonated Antoine and almost married Sally, was sent back to his own dimension. (Archie 155-156) After being engaged for two years, they were finally married in a ceremony that was unforgettable for all of the Freedom Fighters. They currently lived in a quaint house nestled in the country on the outskirts of Mobotropolis. Sally had given Antoine his dream job; Captain of the Royal Guards, and he had trained Bunnie in the art of swordsmanship so she could assist him. Sally had offered him and Bunnie a portion of the castle, but they disagreed with the idea, stating that neither of them was crazy about the city, but they remained close to the castle so she and Antoine could easily commute to work. But being that both couples were busy with their jobs, whether it was ruling the kingdom or guarding the ones ruling it, they had not seen each other in a long time. 

"Mom! Dad! There's this strange ringin' sound comin' from your bedroom," Bridget appeared in the doorway of their hut, much like the ones in Knothole. "An' me n' Jacques are pretty sure it ain't the phone."

Bunnie and Antoine disengaged from the sword fight they were having outside the hut, which was a daily activity for them since it increased their skills, and stared at Bridget, then at each other, in disbelief.

"It couldn't be...," Bunnie whispered.

"But eet ees," Antoine responded, his French accent still intact. They dropped their swords on the ground and ran past Bridget to their bedroom.

"Oh, an' Jacques's already on his way up," she called after them.

Being that he was so curious, Jacques looked around his parents' bedroom, trying to locate the source of the mysterious ringing sound. He stooped to look underneath the bed when Bunnie and

Antoine burst through the door and hastily pulled open the drawer on the bedside table next to him. Antoine was about to turn the communicator on but Bunnie noticed Jacques standing by them and hurriedly shoved him out the door.

"We will to be explaining thees later," Antoine reassured Jacques, shutting the door in his face. His twin sister joined him shortly after, helping him to his feet.

"What the hoo-ha is goin' on in there?" Bridget asked, only getting a shrug in return.

"Nothing worth listening to," he said, still angered at his parent's rude behavior towards him.

"Receive transmission. Audio and visual, please," Bunnie said to the device. The small screen flickered on and the image of two they hadn't seen in over ten years; the two that lead the Freedom Fighters in their distant past; the two that were their best friends, appeared.

"Sally-girl, is that you?" Bunnie whispered disbelievingly.

"My Princ-I mean, my Queen!" Antoine exclaimed, obviously overjoyed.

"Hey, what about me?" Sonic asked, more annoyed than confused.

"Don't worry, Sugarhog. We haven't forgotten about you," Bunnie laughed.

"Oui, _Your Highness_, how could we ever to be forgetting about you?" Antoine joked.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "I don't care how long it's been; I still hate when people call me that!"

"Get used to it, King," Sally smirked, playfully nudging Sonic in the ribs.

"Ya'll haven't changed a bit!" Bunnie said cheerfully. "So why'd ya call? There isn't a problem, is there?"

"I'm afraid so, Bunnie," Knuckles said, moving closer to the communicator so that he could be seen on the other line.

"Knuckles? Why ees eet that you are at ze castle?" Antoine inquired.

"Well, it seems that Robotnik has resurrected himself from the dead, or rather, Snively has," Julie-Su explained.

"WHAT?!" the two exploded. Sally could swear she felt Nicole shaking. "But we took care of him years ago," Bunnie said, the mirth subsiding from her voice.

"Yeah, we thought 'Butt-nik was toast too," Sonic agreed. "But I guess we never took care of Snively." The two stared at him with perplexed looks on their faces, so Sally continued for him. "Basically, he's back, and we need some help brainstorming ideas and attacking once we have one."

"I am agreeing, my Queen. We will be seeing you tomorrow then."

"We'll explain the rest of the details tomorrow," Knuckles said.

"Oh, and you can bring Jacques and Bridget if you want," Lara-Su added, earning herself a shove from Sonia. "We won't mind the company."

"Ah'm sure they won't either, Lara-girl," Bunnie concurred. "See ya'll tomorrow!"

"Bye!" everyone at Castle Acorn said simultaneously.

"That went rather well," Sally said quietly, but still audible.

"What did I say?" Sonic said, proud but also relieved that he had been right. He had had the same doubts as Sally, even though he had hidden it. "One down, two to go. Uhh...call Rotor next."

"Already on it, Sonic."

* * *

Rotor's house was located not too far from the business district of Mobotropolis. He owned an exceptionally famous electronic shop, in which he sold copies of his creations, which were mostly ones that benefited the citizens in some way. In addition to that, he also repaired damaged devices that were purchased, many of them coming from other various electronic stores. But instead of being at work, like he normally was at this time, he was helping Sonic's Uncle Chuck with a pollution method he created for Mobotropolis. 

"So you're saying that if all goes as planned, this machine can restore Mobotropolis's ozone layer?" Rotor asked, admiring the machine's blueprint.

Uncle Chuck nodded. "I'm quite sure it can, just not all at once. And I still haven't collected the materials needed to-"

"Hold that thought, Sir Charles. I'm receiving a call on my communicator."

"Who would be calling at this hour of night? It's quarter past twelve, for heaven's sake!"

"Receive transmission. Audio and visual," Rotor said aloud. The mechanism responded to his voice by beeping a few times and then showing the image of a couple they knew all too well.

Uncle Chuck slapped his forehead. "I should have known it was you, Sonnie-boy. You're the only one I know who would consider calling anyone this late."

"Hey Unc! Long time no see, eh?" Sonic responded on the other line. "And I do have a good explanation for calling this late. Rote's there, right?"

"Right here, buddy," Rotor said, moving into view of the communicator. "How are you doing these days?"

"Wish we could say great but we kinda have some bad news," Sonic sadly. "Here, you seem to be a pretty good bearer of bad news," he said, passing Nicole off to Knuckles.

Knuckles sighed, taking Nicole. "Robotnik is using the power of the Chaos Emeralds, as well as the Master Emerald, to sustain his life."

Both Rotor and Uncle Chuck held their breath, not believing their ears. "You can't be serious," Uncle Chuck gasped. "Everything we did, all of our efforts-"

"We're well aware of that, Sir Charles," Sally said. "The main reason we're calling is not to discuss the return of Robotnik, though. We're holding a reunion at the castle tomorrow to confer our plans of action."

"Reunion? You mean like a party?" Rotor questioned.

Sonic shrugged. "Call it that if you want. I don't mind hiring a DJ, or anything."

"Cool, Your Highnesses," Rotor taunted.

Sonic and Sally rolled their eyes. "Would everyone quit doin' that?" he demanded, while Rotor laughed and apologized. "All the other Freedom Fighters are coming too, so far," he continued.

"Great! Better get some rest then. Oh, before I leave, how's my great-niece doing?" Uncle Chuck asked.

Sonia grabbed Nicole from Sonic, beaming. "Great, Uncle Chuck!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, you forgot me!" Manik said.

"Sonnie, was that you? Your voice sounded different for a second-"

"Uhh, yeah Unc!" Sonic said quickly, taking Nicole back from Sonia. "Must've been some bad reception. See ya tomorrow! Bye!" Sonic ended the link before his Uncle could respond. He turned to Manik, arms crossed and his foot tapping. "You were supposed to be a surprise!"

"How was I supposed to know?" he said innocently.

"Forget it," Sally said, covering Sonic's mouth. "It's getting late, and we still have to call Tails and Lena."

* * *

Lena changed into her nightgown, completely exhausted. It had been a long day for her. She had been helping Tails with a new blueprint for the "Ultimate, Way Past Cool Plane" as he had called it. The features on it combined many of the previous planes he had created, making it better than ever. He had needed Lena's opinion on the various parts of machinery he was using, since her knowledge of mechanics was just about as extended as his. So they had spent the entire day designing the blueprint, while their son Miles checked their inventory for the supplies needed for the plane. After they had finished their work for the day, Tails took off with his son for a race around the border of Mobotropolis as usual, something that could be considered "father-son time." It wasn't a normal race, though. Each of them spun their twin-tails around like helicopter blades and flew the distance. At first, Tails decided to do this once a day to train his son to make good use of his inherited gift. But it didn't take long for him to reach his potential and was soon rivaling his father's skills. But Lena was not born with two tails, and it was impossible to keep up with them, so she stayed at home for this time of day, reading a book or cleaning. 

She sighed as she climbed into bed, waiting for them to return. She missed the days towards the beginning of her marriage, where she and her husband would spend hours on end, her in his arms, flying through the Great Forest. Her mind floated off to the time they first met, all those years ago.

She had been reading her favorite book outside her father's house, sitting underneath the large oak tree in their front yard. She smiled to herself, looking at the clear blue sky and the small plane gliding across it. Her smile had vanished when she heard the engines sputter and saw smoke in the air. The plane began to spin in circles, heading straight for the field to her right. She closed her book and hurriedly ran to the crash site. Next to the plane there stood an orange fox, who seemed to be in his early twenties. She walked over to the stranger and asked if he was harmed. He replied that he was fine, but he wasn't so sure about his plane. She told him that her father was an expert in mechanics and had gotten her into it, so she offered to help him fix the plane.

While they were fixing it up, she asked what his name was. He said that his name was Miles, but since he hated the same, his "big brother" Sonic had renamed him Tails. Her face suddenly lit up when he mentioned Sonic. She was surprised that he knew such an important figure. But she soon put two and two together and realized that he was Tails Prower; the famous mechanic and Freedom Fighter! She told him that it was a wonder that she hadn't recognized his plane. She then asked where he was going when he crashed. He said that he was in search of his parents: Amadeus and Rosemary Prower. She questioned if she could come along and help him search. He gladly said that he could use all the help he could get and let her accompany him. They had soon become best friends and...

Her reverie was interrupted by the beeping coming from her and Tails' shared communicator. She got out of bed and crossed the room to the dresser it was laying on.

"Receive transmission. Audio and visual," Lena said to the communicator. It instantly responded, like the others had, and her face lit up at what, or rather who, she saw.

"Your Majesties! It's been such a long time!"

Everyone at Castle Acorn laughed at her response to the call. "Wow, I guess that joke really goes around," Sonic muttered.

"Yes Lena, it has been," Sally said, her laughter subsiding.

"Hey, how many people do you have over there?" Lena asked, surprised at how loud the laughter had been.

"Well, let's see, there's me n' Sal, Sonia, Knuckles, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su," Sonic responded, purposely skipping over Manik.

"Are you throwing a party or something?"

"Kind of," Sally said. "We're inviting all of the original Freedom Fighters to our place for a reunion tomorrow. And that reminds me, is Tails there?"

"Right here, Sally!" Tails called from the doorway. "And Miles is here too!" he added, moving into view and wrapping his arm around Lena.

"But Knuckles was never an original Freedom Fighter, so why's he there?" Lena asked.

"Here ya' go Knux," Sonic said, handing Nicole over to him yet again. "Like I said, you're pretty good at this kind of stuff."

Knuckles reluctantly took Nicole from his hands. "I'm here to run the meeting that will take place sometime tomorrow. It concerns Ivo Robotnik, need I say more?"

"What happened? He's not back, is he?" Tails questioned, slightly panicking.

"'Fraid so, T2," Sonic stated solemnly. "So we need you, Lena, and Miles to come here so we can figure out how to get rid of him."

"Got it, Sonic. We'll be over tomorrow as soon as we can." The connection ended, and Sally flipped Nicole shut.

"Now what?" Manik queried.

"Now...we wait," Sally finished.


End file.
